Studio tours are hardly uncommon in the many art communities across Saskatchewan, but organizers working with the Outlook & District Arts Council are debuting a new kind of event this summer they hope will be a huge hit: the River & Rail Art Trail.
As a self-guided tour taking place on June 26-27, River & Rail Art Trail will direct art enthusiasts on a road-trip style adventure to several different communities in and around the Outlook area, to visit artists, studios, galleries and even local businesses.
“All the artists, the agribusiness entrepreneurs, musicians, even writers, all those people that form an economic and personal diversity in what they do and find joy in, we want them to be supported,” said organizer and artist Janet Akre.
Inspired by the many other studio and artist tours that take place in other parts of the province, including the Moostletoe Studio Tours here in Moose Jaw, Akre said the idea was to create something similar for the creative communities in Outlook and area.
After a successful private event Akre put together with a handful of other local artists on her own property, a spark of interest from Outlook potter and co-organizer Susan Robertson became the River and Rail Art Trail.
The event is unique in that it will feature a multi-community map and include more than just traditional artists, extending the tour to artisans, local producers, writers and musicians. Akre and Robertson are also envisioning partnerships with local businesses as venues on the tour, which Akre explained further.
“For example, wouldn’t it be cool to have somebody who makes charcuterie boards set up in the local Co-op, so that way you would be able to absolutely find the venue,” said Akre. “And then as a double-take, you’ve got the artisan there with their art and also the business supporting their work and encouraging people to buy local.”
Akre said there is already a handful of artists and venues onboard, and the tour’s range is looking for stops in the communities in west central Saskatchewan — including the areas of Outlook, Davidson, Strongfield, Loreburn, Broderick, Elbow, Tugaske and Craik.
This year’s debut event will be entirely free for those interested in following the trail, and the co-organizers are already hard at work planning the map that will be available.
“We’re going to have a very fluid experience, so people can drive to wherever they want to. We’ll obviously have signage and directions, and hopefully even an app we can tie into GPS so people can find their way around quickly,” said Akre.
As artists themselves, Akre, Robertson and the arts council envision the River and Rail Art Tour offering a unique opportunity for rural artists in smaller centres to showcase themselves, while also promoting the other tourism interests in the communities these artists call home.
“The person who’s going to come [to the tour] is going to be someone who is interested in the arts, who likes local adventure, who believes in supporting local,” said Akre. “Our larger cities, including Moose Jaw, people know they have a vibrant arts community, but they maybe don’t know that outside those cities there’s also a vibrant arts community with lots of great quality work.”
She also hopes the event will offer a mentoring opportunity for artists, allowing them to connect with each other to talk about marketing and community growth.
Applications are available on the River and Rail Art Trail website, and updates about the event and its venues will be shared on social media over the next few months.
